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He cited ... Greece as general examples of economies flourishing because of states, and he very much implied that the poor in these societies were better off thanks to the states. In reality the poor in these societies were not cared for by the governments who got around the issue by declaring them non citizens.
[/ QUOTE ]This is totally incorrect, as far as who made it as citizen goes.
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For instance, in ancient Athens, it was not just the owners of estate who had the right to vote, as was the case in Brtiian until relatively recently...
Every male who had done his military service could run for office and vote in ancient Athens. (Sure, Athenian democracy was not as inclusive as our modern democracies are, i.e. women and immigrants did not get to vote. But it was more inclusionary than most contemporary or subsequent regimes, and certainly one of the most
direct democracies ever!)
And I think you need to clarify which ancient city-state you're talking about when you're talking about "[ancient] Greece". E.g. Corinth was very different from Sparta.